Geologic Research

Programs

Mineral-resource scientists at the USGS Alaska Science Center conduct objective scientific investigations into the origin of mineral deposits and the mineral-resource potential underlying public lands in Alaska. These studies provide information to land-use planners and decision makers about where mineral commodities are known and suspected in the Earth’s crust and about potential environmental consequences of the presence of those commodities.

In addition to mineral-resource assessments, geoscience data is relevant to the issues of resource development, hazard mitigation, engineering, construction, habitat designation, tourism, environmental impacts, and other concerns. Federal lands constitute 64% of the onshore portion of Alaska, and the USGS works with the land-management agencies to provide the type, scale, quality, and quantity of data needed for effective land-use decisions.

The USGS provides accurate and impartial scientific data and comprehensive analyses of Alaska's petroleum, gas-hydrate, and coalbed-methane resources for use by the Federal, State, and Native organizations that manage those resources. Using geology-based probabilistic methodologies, the USGS has produced estimates of the occurrence of undiscovered oil and gas resources for both Alaska's onshore lands and the Circum-Arctic Basin.